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What’s the buzz?: Synthetic marijuana, K2, Spice, JWH-018

The topic of one of our most popular posts of all time has been the synthetic marijuana products containing JWH compounds, naphthoylindole cannabimimetics synthesized in the 1990s in the Clemson University laboratory of John Huffman. This post first appeared at the ScienceBlogs home of Terra Sigillata on 9 Feb 2010 and gives you some background on the active components of K2, Spice, and other products.

My field of natural products pharmacology was founded by indigenous cultures who recognized that plants and fungi contain compounds that produce altered states of consciousness, leading to their most common use in religious ceremonies. While we may most often associate these naturally-occurring drugs with hallucinogens, the arguably most common natural product in use today is marijuana or Cannabis sativa. Indigenous to India and China, Cannabis has been the subject of increasing decriminalization worldwide due in part to its clinical, medicinal effects in multiple sclerosis, cancer, and AIDS.

Over the last few months, I’ve seen reports of a so-called “synthetic marijuana” being sold on the internet with stories most commonly coming from England and Germany and, in the US, from Kansas, Missouri, and Arizona. In fact, the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreportstoday that a bill has been brought before the Missouri House Public Safety Committee seeking to add this product to the state’s list of illegal drugs.

I became intrigued as to why anyone would go through the trouble of making a synthetic marijuana when the real thing is so readily cultivated worldwide, albeit illegally in most locales.

So what is it?

“Fake weed”
Synthetic marijuana, marketed as K2 or Spice, is an herbal substance sold as an incense or smoking material that remains legal in much of the United States but is being increasingly banned at the state and local levels. The products contain one or more synthetic compounds that behave similarly to the primary psychoactive constituent of marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.

JWH-018, one of the most commonly cited components of K2, Spice, and other herbal incense products.

The compound most commonly found in these products is a chemical first synthesized by the well-known Clemson University organic chemist, Prof John W Huffman: the eponymous JWH-018. Another compound, found in Spice products sold in Germany, is an analog of CP-47,497, a cannabinoid developed by Pfizer over 20 years ago.

Known as (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole), or the more proper IUPAC name of Naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl)methanone, JWH-018 is one of over 100 indoles, pyrroles, and indenes synthesized by the Huffman laboratory to develop cannabimimetics, drugs that mimic the effect of cannabinoids such as THC. The primary goal of these studies was to create pharmacological probes to 1) determine the structure-activity relationships of these compounds and 2) tease out the physiological function of subtypes of receptors we have for cannabinoids: the CB1 and CB2 receptors.

What does it do?
Much of the biological assessment work of Dr. Huffman’s compounds was carried out by the laboratory of Professor Billy R. Martin of the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Martin, a native of North Carolina, was a giant in the field and sadly left us two summers ago at the all-too-young age of 65 (obituary).

According to this 2000 paper in Drug and Alcohol Dependence from the Huffman and Martin groups, JWH-018 binds to the psychotropic CB1 receptor with approximately 4 times the potency of the naturally-occurring THC. Unlike THC, which binds with almost equal affinity to CB1 and CB2 receptors, JWH-018 exhibits a 3-fold preference for CB1 receptors.

What does this mean? Well, the CB1 receptor is the primary means by which cannabinoids exert their psychotropic effects. The CB2 receptor, on the other hand, appears to be more involved in pain and inflammation and is therefore a very active area of research for new therapeutics.

So while JWH-018 has four-fold greater potency for CB1 receptors than THC in an isolated receptor binding study, how its effect compares to plain-old marijuana depends on other factors such as the relative amount in the product, how stable it is to combustion, how it’s metabolized in the body, among others.

“We don’t know much about this, but it’s going to end up killing somebody”
I’m not going out on a limb to say that this statement of Missouri Rep. Ward Frantz might be a bit hysterical at this point but I could be wrong. [Note added 7 Sept: Spice products have been associated, but not yet linked causally, with three deaths in Indiana. I note this because one death originally attributed to Spice was later shown to be due to a “mixed drug intoxication” with “prescription depressants.”] Human toxicology studies have not been done and the indole moiety of the drug dose raise the possibility that it may cause serotonin syndrome, a potentially fatal but relatively rare disorder. Otherwise, this concern is far overblown when compared with other drug issues in America’s heartland such as methamphetamine.

“Surprised it took this long”
It’s worth reading the backstory on Professor Huffman in this UK Guardian/The Observer article:

JWH-018 was “nothing special”, Dr Huffman remembered, “but it was one of the more potent compounds we made, and it was quite easy to make from commercially available materials. Probably the reason it has now caught on.” [...]

[...]“My biggest surprise was that this all hadn’t happened sooner,” he told me. “All it needed was somebody with a reasonable understanding of science to see the papers we had published and think, ‘Aha!’”

And with the perspective of a 77-year-old organic chemist:

“I’ve lived around the world a long time,” said Dr Huffman. “I’ve come to the conclusion that if an enterprising person wants to find a new way to get high, they’re going to do it.”

JWH-018 is however already classified as illegal in several European and Scandinavian countries. So unless JWH-018 does something different from garden-variety marijuana, outlawing it in the US will just push folks back to God’s own herb.

Further reading:
dr leigh at Neurodynamics – More details on JWH-018 pharmacology (parts 1 and 2)Drugmonkey on reports of Spice dependence and withdrawal phenomena

British pharmacology colleague, Synchronium, has been covering this way long than any of us since these products were first available, and outlawed, in Europe.

Drugmonkey and I also noted the unusual sustained reader traffic that our respective posts on this topic received, not commonly observed in the natural history of even the most controversial blog post. My latter post also noted a high number of hits from US military IP addresses coincident with a USA Today article and local coverage of a ban on these intoxicants at Camp Lejune, NC.

It is unclear how dangerous these compounds might be, since we know next-to-nothing about potential side effects, since none of them have gone through the three levels of human clinical trials and 10+ years of study needed to have any clue about their dangers. It took a wide patient population to identify the liabilities of, for example, of Vioxx and before that Phen-Fen before it was clear that they were dangereous.

Is it safe to ingest JWH-018 or related compounds? That question’s answer is just a guess. The toxicities, both short term and long term, are as far as I known totally unknown. Maybe these compounds affect few other targets in the human body and are benignly cleared, but this a leap of faith, and for what, exactly?

I’m not a cannabis user, but if I wanted that effect I would choose “God own herb” since the pharmcokinetics and pharmacodynamics are known and there is a track record of use in a huge patient population.

@partial agonist – At our old home, we began accumulating stories from users that varied widely from enjoyment to admonitions. When I logged in to Gmail to see notice of your comment, an ad appeared in the header for pure JWH-018. Using the compound itself seems associated with much more agitation and potential for seizures (anecdote from commenters, not prospective data and allows local marketers to make up their own product with unknown quantities of 018 or other compounds.

Another point raised by one of our long-time readers is the issue of pyrolysis products.

This has been such a hot issue that I suspect this won’t be the last time I write about it.

I’ve had a very bad experience with K2 Spice (Blonde to be exact). This was probably close to the 15th time I had done it. This one particular time I did 4 or 5 bowls out of a bong. These are the feeling I recorded the next day after the bad trip and I assure you, all were real. I am not making this up.

I felt like my head had two holes in it right about in the same spots where the ears are located. It was a massive hole like I was shot in the head. I felt a huge rush of air flow in and out of that giant hole in my head. Whatever I was looking at on the computer screen appeared somewhat 3-D, almost like in the movie Minority Report. It felt like people were swearing in my mind, I could hear them so well. I could only focus on specific non-moving things. It took so much effort to move any part of my body. It was even difficult to move my eyes. When I moved it was like I was moving in the way a subject does in a Stop-Motion film. This was before the experience starting peaking. I then walked into the bathroom and looked at my face. My eyes were bloodshot of course and I had big purple bags under my eyes. My eyes were very droopy as well. The experience then began to kick in. I felt like my heart was beating very excessively and my veins were pumping concrete throughout my body and it was hardening. I then went and lay in a bed because I felt I was having a heart attack. This was when the full effects were kicking in. I had someone take my blood pressure on a little home monitor and the machine wouldn’t even read it because my heart was beating too fast. My heart felt like it was bouncing around in my chest and bouncing off the inside of my rib cage. I felt like I was swallowing my teeth and they were crushed in my mouth. I felt like my stomach was swallowing my heart. When I lay there I could hear and feel the beats of my heart push air up out of my mouth. I lay there silent. It was the worst feeling in the world from simply having too much feeling. I could feel the bones in my mouth with my tongue and then it began to feel like my tongue was rolling and flipping over in my mouth and I might slip down my throat. I was laying there screaming but my mouth didn’t open, all I could do was fixating on the pain and just wait for it to wear off. This was the worst feeling I have ever experienced. My heart was racing. Sometimes I would go into a bad fit. I would lay there and shake and have weird compulsions from everywhere. I would bang on my chest to try and fix my heart from beating so fast. My arms where shaking and my feet wouldn’t sit still. I could feel so much pain just by having such an increase in the sense of touch everywhere throughout. But at the same time, it was painless. So strange. I was feeling an abnormal amount of pain but then overall not feeling any pain. It was just discomfort. That was hands down the most terrifying experience I have had in my life.

I never thought I’d experience something like this from spice, it was something I had only read about. But guess what, it happened. This all happened close to a month ago.

Using the compound itself seems associated with much more agitation and potential for seizures

[...]

Another point raised by one of our long-time readers is the issue of pyrolysis products.

Funnily enough, buying the pure compound lets people easily consume it orally, so no worries about pyrolysis products or taking too much by making up a 1mg/ml EtOH stock solution, which can be measured out accurately and consistently with a pipette before use.

I suspect we’ll all have a lot more to say on the topic in the not too distant future, if only for the mad traffix!

@Synchronium – Sorry about the lack of blockquote functionality. I went ahead and changed those to italics.

I’ve not seen any published data on oral bioavailability of these compounds – For example, that aliphatic chain is likely to be hydroxylated and that may interfere with biological action. I’ve also seen meeting reports that the compound can be hydroxylated and glucuronidated elsewhere and N-dealkylated but I can’t find the primary reference to see if this was in animals, humans, or just from microsomal metabolism studies.

By the way, readers should note that anecdotal reports are suggestive that there may be legitimate therapeutic uses for these compounds. I understand that some pharmacologists are investigating some of these aspects.

Cheers for that! No need to apologise, I was just trying to make clear what was going on.

RE: Oral availability – I’ve read a great deal of comments, forum posts etc about this. Obviously, they’re not amazingly reliable – and of course, the plural of anecdote is not data! – but they all seem fairly consistent. People have ingested that EtOH solution with much success, using similar doses to if smoked.

Also those anonymous tox studies in rats on my blog (if they can be trusted – my phrase of the year) suggest the following:

Results: JWH-018 is distributed well throughout the rat’s tissues. Metabolism and excretion are normal, with a plasma half-life of approximately 2 hours

Before the purer chem became popular, I’d also seen a lot of reports of people baking with the commercially available blends like spice with similar success.

Like I said, not exactly hard science, but pretty conclusive.

desirae

Sep 19 - 10:05 AM

does spice show up wen ur drug tested?

yogi-one

Sep 20 - 12:22 PM

I stopped being a casual marijuana user decades ago because I was bored of being high. Put simply, I began to value clarity of sensual perception over sensory distorion.
However, later in life I began exeriencing headaches related to some spinal misalignment. I didn’t know the cause of the headaches for years until I got an x-ray. Chiropratic treaments have lessened the frequency and severity of them quite a bit. But I am interested in marijuana’s pain-killing effects if they could be separated from the other effects.

Two things raise my curiosity:
1. The research on the CB2 receptor. If I could legally obtain a drug that had the pain-killing effects of marijuana without the high, I’d probably do that. Do you know where I can find out more about that?
2. I was always what you call a ‘stupid stoner’; my short term memory was affected when stoned, and also I had trouble learning new tasks when high. For example, I play music, but sight-reading music charts became much harder for me when high, as did reading a novel, because I would forget the paragraph I had just read.
I noticed that not all my friends were affected this way. One of my music buddy’s favorite activities was to get high and sight-read charts. He loved it. I also knew math whizzes that loved doing calculations while high, whereas my personal math aptitude went out the window.
So I would be curious as to what the chemical explanation is for short term memory loss and learning deficiency while high, and why it doesn’t affect everyone who smokes marijuana that way.

J dubs

Nov 02 - 5:33 PM

I actually became a quite excessive smoker of spice for a short while. I stopped instantly after having a quite troubling experience myself. I smoked a large bowl and instantly began to feel discomfort. Following that I felt an excruciating sharp pain in the back of my head which traveled from my brain stem slowly through my spine. My heart began racing so I headed to the nearest chair, as I approached it I became physically impaired to the point that I was running into things and knocking them over, when i approached the chair one side of my body fell numb and I fell to the floor, attempting to use my left side to recover. When I was finally seated I lost my ability to see for a short time and a lot of my memory of the event is hazey. Turns out I had a TIA, which is a miniature stroke. I was not disabled permanently from the event but most defiantly scared shitless, spice is not safe at all.

brandi

Feb 16 - 2:27 AM

I smoked 2 hits of cloud 9 and i remember feeling as if liquid wa running down my spine. im glad 2 know im not alone

Ben D

Nov 19 - 1:12 PM

Does jwh-018 displace THC from the CB1 and CB2 receptors? I quit smoking pot almost a month ago in favor of jwh-018, and I’m still showing THC in my urine. Why might this be?

nanno

Jan 27 - 2:55 AM

Before I get started, just let me say that I have tryed/used many
drugs in my younger days, almost all to be honest. I’ve been smoking marijuana for over 15 years, AND I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH AN EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE

I started smoking a form of Spice/K2 called Dynasty and Judgement
Day about a year ago. I had moved far from home and lived in an area where marijuana wasn’t available like it was at home. A local headshop had introduced me to it and everything seemed fine at first. Then came the scariest night of my life!! After only two hits I went to lay down and watch some TV. After a few minutes I noticed my heart beating extremely fast, I had to focus on breathing, as if I had to force myself to breathe. I started sweating bullets, although I was ice cold. Then I started to shake from head to toe. Then it got much much worse.

The back of my head was in extreme pain, it felt as if my brain was swelling and was about to explode. I started to lose my vision, I began to experience tunnel vision. Seconds later I began to lose my hearing.

I was home all alone, with no phone, and I thought this was it. This is what it feels like to die. I was convinced I was dying. I grabbed my girlfriends engagement ring (I was in the process of proposing to her) and tryed to get as comfortable as possible.
I layed back down in our bed and I was sure this is how she would find me the following morning, dead with the ring in hand.

Lucky for me I didn’t, but I did ask for her hand in marriage the next morning. I have never looked at life the same since.

To this day I still get that uncomfortable feeling in the back of my head from time to time, and scares the heck out of me. The long term affects are unknown and Im afraid Im might learn the hard way.

howz

Feb 09 - 2:37 PM

so ive been playing with this stuff for a couple months now. long term pot smoker, i enjoy the fact that i can cruise around with this and not worry about the law. i started with this really potent stuff called Space. just a couple small hits at a time because the shop had warned me. did that for a week or so and it was nice. then i got some less potent stuff Kush, which is awesome because you can smoke a whole joint and just feel buzzed as if youd smoked some mild herb. After chillin with some of the weaker stuff for a while i smoked 3 big hits of the Space stuff and had one of those crazy trips. i had kind of had one before but not nearly as intense. my heart beat was insane. my left arm hurt and had to keep stretching it. intense mind trip, everything i had done recently was kaliedescoping around and coming to conclusions. it was really intense. However i have a long history with psychedelics and meditation, so these experiences were actually valuable and proved to set me straight in a lot of ways. im pretty sure the Space has a ton of the JWh-018. i Talked to a guy who manufactures herbal incense and he said that the -018 is responsible for most of the heart pounding. the new blends ive smoked that are going to still be legal after the proposed ban are all mellow and nice. All in all however i relate the trips i had to LSD or eating large spiritual doses of Ganja. it was a self reflective totally valid psychedelic experience that served to help me change myself based on the visions i had, i could do without the mini stroke though and i think the reason for alot these freakout/ hardcore trips is all because of uneven dispersal of the compounds on the herbal medium. pretty sure all us folks that had “bad experiences” just hit a “hotspot in the batch” and got a much larger dose because it was clumped up and got us all high as hell. timothy leary told people that were having badtrips thinking they were dying, that they are dying. were all dying its all part of this billion year process and right now your on a drug that helps you get in touch with that and it will go away. pretty basic trip control stuff. my advice, ask the shop owners which blend is for religious ceremonies and which is for casual bruning. there is a big difference between the two.

Aleaha

Feb 09 - 4:49 PM

i wana try this stuff b/c i am on probation and cannot do the weed thing! where can i get it? any smoke shop? waht do i need to ask for? I live in Myrtle Beach , SC. thanx!

gage

Mar 25 - 2:09 PM

i had like i super crazy trip the other night…my heart was racing so fast and i heard people talking in my ear…. we smoked fusion “spice” mixed with k2 citrus… the trip was intense and the feeling would come and go…..i swore i would never smoke again i felt more closer to death than any drug has ever made me feel and ive done all of them being an ex drug addict….i smoke spice occasionally and smoked the morn after the bad trip.

Dani

May 03 - 10:51 PM

I’m a 17 year old female, and I havent touched anything more than Ibuprofen in months, let alone 2 weeks since I’ve had Ibuprofen. So I know this wasn’t some mixed drug reaction. last night, a friend has brought some k2 spice home, and i just finished my senior year of high school, so me and my boyfriend thought wed smoke with him, though we dont smoke, and its been yeras since I’ve last smoked weed.

I took 1 hit, and it washed over me, and it seemed like it was just some strong shit. I took a second hit, and i started laughing uncontrollably, and told them to skip me, and i fell back laughing, but part of me kept saying “oh shit oh shit!!!!!” and before I knew it, I was just sitting there in a noisy room with people around me joking, and makin funny comments about me, theyd never seen me stoned before, and all of a sudden they started saying “hold on, somethings wrong, whats wrong with her? it looks serious!” and they started touching me, and everything started spinning. emotions, sensations, feelings, voices, noises, everything was just spinning in my head and i couldnt control any of it or think straight or create my own thoughts or stop any of them. I was sitting there practically staring at myself, yet from the inside, and just saying to myself “what have i done.. what have i done.. what is this… this isnt me.. what about him…. i cant lose him.. (my boyfriend) i cant believe hes seeing me like this.. no.. i CANT lose him.. i have to stay awake I have to stay counscious..” and i started singing the ABC’s so I could keep thinking.. it made things slow down a little.. and it helped me to realize what i needed to do, i just needed to focus on something. so i kept trying to catch the things going on around me and concentrate, but everytime i grabbed something, all the emotions and feelings and voices would just come screaming back at me and id freak out again.. i kept trying and hoping and wishing that this wasn’t what ive done to myself to happen to me for the rest of my life, why wasnt it stopping? why wouldnt it just end? I soon saw my love staring me square in the face saying “GET UP! GET UP! WHATS WRONG! WAKE UP! STOP!!! PLEASE GET UP!!” and performing CPR on me and various other things to wake me up. and I saw him lift my body and hold me there in his arms and scream and cry, and he was all I could see, his tears, his bloodshot crying eyes. And i snapped back into the trip and started freaking out again.. and I started looking for his eyes and holding his eyes telling myself “calm calm calm calm calm” over and over and steadily everything started stabilizing and everytime it started spinning, i just reminded myself what I was doing and what just happened and saying calm calm calm calm calm and i tried motioning and nodding to my love to tell him what was going on.. but everything i did took such great effort, half the things i thought i was doing, my body couldnt muster the strength to actually do, my friends finally got off the phone with 911 and 3 cops and 6 paramedics were standing in my living room. I started realized what was going on and I realized, i must have really come back, and i kept asking them to clarify to me that im reall yhere and this is really happening. soon enough i was sitting in a hospital bed and my boyfriend was sitting there just crying that he thought i was gone. I thought I was gone too. I kept wishing I would just die. the doctors said they thought I was on meth, or crack, my heartrate was 200bpm, and i had a fever. My friends all told me it was like watching an exorcism like on the Paranormal movies. I was just screaming and ripping at my hair and biting scratching and hitting.. nobody else had a trip like that, not even my female friend who is barely half my size. They all took hits, and it was all the same spice. I;m now cosntantly in fear that I’m going to slip right back into the trip, everytime my heart speeds up i get scared, and dizzy and shake. I feel like im just sitting on the edge……

Anyone reading this that smokes that stuff.. please stop.. before this happens to you and you dont wake up, you dont snap out of it. I couldn’t believe I was the girl screaming on the floor. I never wanted to be her, and now those people in the hospital, those paramedics, those cops.. they all see me as just one more stupid little kid throwing their life away. I’m not like that….

mouwers

Feb 16 - 2:51 AM

i feel you i smoked 2 hits one time it felt like really good first few minutes then i came back n room n was like is this suposed to make me feel this way i had high heart rate n anxiety too they put me on blood pressure meds n im preg now. i used to be a big pothead now im not i just want to feel clarity now i dont want to get high anymore i thought i was gonna die. i also felt this weird liquid goin down my spine

Cindy Nance

Apr 13 - 10:59 AM

It’s almost as if we had he same experience. Before I had my incident I had smoked some spice without freaking out, I remember I would just constantly twitch. I had 2 incidents in just a few months. And it’s effected me negatively I have anxiety and moments of derealization where it feels as if life and perception isn’t real. The first time I freaked out I remember waking up and my boyfriend giving me a bowl hit of spice. Instantly I felt discomfort and slight body and mind pain. I fell face first back onto my bed and I instantly blacked out. It’s so hard to explain what I experienced in the 2 black outs I had. It was as if I was in a void. I had no vision no hearing no feeling. Everything was dark as if I was both conscious and unconscious. I felt like I was already dead and I felt the infinite void. At one point now that I’m trying to remember (because it’s fuzzy) I think I had an out of body experience. Like I said I still couldn’t see but I sensed my body on the ground like I wasn’t connected to it. I remember a thought that I had while in this state “is this existence? Is this it? I don’t want it” finally somehow I got my vision back and I found my self breathing in and out heavily I had a stack of books near the corner of my room and they were everywhere like I crashed into them. I was looking at my family staring at me. My dad was praying over me. I was told that I was screaming and saying evil things. I still don understand how my eyes were open the whole time yet it was all dark. I don’t dare to ask my boyfriend all the details because I feel embarrassed I acted that way. But I wasn’t in control it was like the spice took control and it was terrifying. After tht I still hit spice a few more times but didn’t freak out. After a while my boyfriend went to a headship and bought a small bag. We went to subway and ate then went back to the car and I took a hit out of a one hitter instantly I felt it. Terror. I remember yelling “what’s happening???!” And biting my nails everything was weird an had the effects of being inside a fish bowl.
I blacked out a second time and again I was in the void. This time it wasn’t so kind to me I can’t explain the feelings and visions it’s in worldly and terrifying like I was inthe blackness of hell. I again had the sensation of being on the ground. I was later told that my boyfriend was holding me down while I kicked and screamed and fought him. I had no vision no hearing and no feeling only that one sensation. And my boyfriends voice saying over and over “it’s going to be okay” I was
I finally got my vision back and saw that there was some paremedics asking me questions and an ambulance and a police officer talking to my boyfriend. I remember taking comfort in his red shirt for some reason, he was the only recognizable thing.
The paramedic kept asking if I was okay and if I could walk and kept saying over an over “give me a minute” or “I’m cold” because I was. I was freezing.
I rode in the back of the ambulance to the hospital and I cried I could barely speak or answer any of their questions because I was still high an scared. I remember having one thought, I was in the stretcher with the blanket they gave me looking out through the back window at all the cars and thinking “what if I rolled out the back”
Maybe it was because of the anxiety.

Anyways I’m okay now I don’t even touch spice or look at it and if people talk about spice I tell them to stop
I don’t want to hear it, even the thought makes me panic. Marijuana defiantly isn’t the same, 2 strange blackouts in two months

Matthew Wames

Jun 05 - 10:51 PM

So lastnight my buddy had a graduation party, we were long time friends, but I thendecided to go out on my own and moved to a surronding county. I came and watched him graduate a week after I did at my old school. However yesterday I saw a really good friend of mine fall on the deck, he was having a seizure. This was the first time I had ever seen one (and I’m only 18). But that day and night I drank some wild turkey And kessler and beer and cAndian mist and jäger. After Bering really buzzed I went and saw an ol friend. At the time I didn’t realize she was smoking spice, mu really good buddy metioned to me one time he had smoked it but he never told me what happened. But I been smokin pot for bout 3 years now until recently, pot had been makin me puke after ever time smoking so I quit. Had I been sober I’d said no but she asked me if I wanted to hit it, I asked what it was and she replied spice. Me not even taking the time to look at the sweet pipe we were smoking out of I fired it up and took the bigger hit ever. I rember her sayin ok Ericsson next and he denied. After that I put my hands behind my head and laid back on the wet grass. I don’t know how long I was out but this morning I was told I was on my back and almost suffocated on mu own puke. I remeber being put in my jeep onthe passNger zide because I could remember my interior console and mu beer in the floorboard. I could recognize 3 voices. But the fourth I couldn’t. Expierancing the seizure earlier, my body went through a series if. compulsions and heavy breathing. I remeber vomiting in the jeep and my grandmother saying ah fuck lol (one of the voices I recognized) and i never once took a step nor opened an eye cause I wasn’t able to, and if my eyes were opened I was blind. I rember bein thrown on the bed and my uncle saying here’s a trashcan and biting me in the face with it. I rember being wiped off with a cool rag. The only reaso. I remember the trashcan is cause of the plastic bag rubbing against my face. I then woke up at 4am and had to poooooo really bad. And ten I tried going back to sleep but with a massive headache such As the one I have now, it wS impossible. I threw up one more time before falling asleep amd waking up at 7. I then researched spice, Nd what I found scared me shitless. I immediatly I formed my friend about it. So help me lord I will never smoke spice or weed again. I’m pretty sure I had a seizure lStnight. Regardless this shit calledd spice makes marijuana look like a pussy and spice can goto hell. Anyone doin this, stop, your goin to kill yourself!

kenneth

Jun 06 - 7:56 PM

I just tried a couple of fair-sized hits of K2 and I found it to be singularly *unpleasant* compared to marijuana. It might have hit me more mildly if I hadn’t smoked and run, walking my dog on a fairly hot day, moving mostly uphill, me all old and ailing already from too much cigarette-smoking and a basically long and indulgent life. And maybe it would have been less distressing if I’d thought to get a glass of water from my host before leaving. Anyway, it hit me rather hard, made me somewhat unsteady on my feet …I was weaving noticeably during much of my trek home (a bit over half a mile). It was nothing like pot. It wore me out and even brought on a tinge of panic. I was exhausted for hours afterward. I drank and ate reflexively to rid my body of the high. I don’t think I want to smoke it again. But if you were just kicking back on a shady porch, it might serve for a few laughs. I found it burdensomely too potent on this my only occasion of using.

elizabeth

Mar 13 - 12:28 PM

You were also drinking that would have caused the vomiting. Some pepole just cant smoke it. I know how that headache feels….

Nate

Jun 19 - 9:17 AM

I was doing weed for about 2 years until I got on probation. K2 i think is the perfect solution! Although most of the jwh’s theyve caught on To and test for the only I’m aware of that u can get away with is jwh 122 I’ve been using this for ever now about 8 months every day about 10 seshions. I have never onced experienced anything like this other than a vomit once or twice from too much. Jwh is not bad I believe

Random

Jul 13 - 2:36 AM

I’ve tried this stuff numerous times. It’s extrememly addicting.
I started off with Spice called “Demon” it got me high off of about 5 hits it made me feel like I could sense the unconcious side of people and what they were really like, and their intensions. It would get me extremely “high”. Then my roomate had what he called “Jamican Spice” – This made me completely high off of 2 or 3 hits I just felt so out of it and absolutely amazing although if I would stand up after smoking I would get a head rush things would start going blurry and I’d see Kleidescope colors, but if I sat down everything would be okay. I smoked this aswell a couple of times never having any bad reactions other than the colors & being very high.
The next thing I smoked was Jamican & demon combined that is the first time I had any negative side effects and only took about 4 hits. And I got VERY high the first thing I really really started noticing was my sense. My fingers almost felt “wirey” as if there was a payphone cord throught my hands and legs if I put my hands on my face I would feel them there but I would still feel them on my legs where they previously were and my head was rushing with thoughts I felt out of connect with my body and my eyes were open but I felt like I was walking thru parts of my brain seeing how each place worked. I kept thinking I wasnt ever going to be okay again. and I felt as if I was out of my body somewhat watching it yet I was still in my mind (if that makes sense whatsoever) Yet anytime I moved that sensory “wirey” feeling came back. I don’t remember much and it didn’t last more than 30 minutes I just felt like someone else thinking different thoughts having many random ideas. I felt like I was thinking of things yet not knowing if I was really doing them or not I couldnt comprehend reality from my mind. The next thing I tried was called “bayou” took about 6 hits ended up having the same thing happening, yet a tad bit more intense my boyfriend ended up having a seizure off of it and being that “high” was the scariest/creepiest thing ever. It was as if he was moving like the matrix yet possessed at the same time. And everyone else watching that had smoked it said the same thing. He ended up being okay afterwards and hasn’t smoked since. I then decided to give it one more try because I’d get irratable if I didn’t have my “fix” so I tried some more “bayou” on the fourth of july and same thing felt as in a different demension and couldn’t get out, couldn’t escape yet I knew I was just really really really messed up and would come down my heart beat was extremely fast and I felt as if i needed to stay hydrated so I kept drinking water yet I couldnt feel me drinking and it almost felt as if I felt the coldness go down my throat but when it went in I couldnt feel me swallow it and my stomache felt empty. I tried to stay calm cause I knew my pulse was extremely high the fireworks helped a tiny bit to kill my high but not very well as I sat in my boyfriends car I had him drive me around thinking that may kill my high and eventually it did I was fine. I smoked a couple times after that some other random spices never had that affect again until tonight i tried “voodoo” 2 hits and I was high I don’t remember the drive from the headshop back to where my car was very clearly. I just remember my senses and as if I felt my hands were touching a mirror yet I could feel what the mirror image of my hands were doing. I remember feeling as if It was just my brain I had no body yet I knew my body was there. It felt as if when you daydream you see youself doing something in your head but you can distinguish it from reality but on this I couldnt and I started having tremors unable to control my body or get back into a normal state of mind. I made my friend stop to get me water, I drank it really fast but once again I couldn’t feel anything go down me. It felt as if I was in my brain but someone or something else was controlling my body movements. I felt as if I was in hell this morbid place that I couldn’t get out of I felt just so weird & unexplainable, I finally got back to my car I don’t remember getting out of my friends car and into mine, but I had my boyfriend check my pulse which once again was very fast. I kept dazing off coming in and out of my body. Staring at things and when my boyfriend realized I was staring asked me what I was looking at i thought I was going to die there. I slightly fell over but was able to regain myself and breathe in and out very slowly which helped alot finally after about 45 minutes I was okay and normal again.
I’ve never expierenced anything like what this “Spice” stuff does to me. It’s extremely creepy yet, so addicting. My advice is don’t smoke it. But if it doesn’t give you weird side effects and you’ve already smoked it just watch your limits. But i would never smoke with someone who hasn’t ever tried it.

Spice gave my 26 year old son a stroke. Four months later it gave my 19 year old daughter had a stroke but she wont be recovering like her brother did. She cant speak and is paralyzed on one side for the rest of her life cause she smoked spice. Her stroke went undetected for over 6 hours …because her boyfriend was on spice too. Someone make this killer illegal

beth

Aug 23 - 6:54 PM

This K2 stuff is very potent. Do not take more than 2 hits and stick with the stuff you know. When you get to the fine powder/shake at the bottom, throw it away, or at least only smoke one small hit. It’s not worth killing yourself over.

jenn

Aug 27 - 6:24 PM

I’m from Niagara Falls, NY and here it’s called “parole weed” for the most part. I’ve been trying out different kinds and flavors for close to a year now. I can say I’ve had a couple different uncomfortable effects. Both were extreme cases of paranoia. It was scary, but I haven’t had any real problems with it other than that. I also know a lot of other people who are also using it and am trying to get all the info I can for myself and them . I don’t want anyone to get sick or worse. If ur reading these comments leave your own you might help someone

josh

Aug 29 - 9:13 PM

Ok, so everyone here that is complaining about spice or k2 or jwh, first of all, read the damned package: NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. Plain and simple, if you are going to smoke something, DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE CONSUMING. Stop getting on blogs and telling people this stuff will kill you, THAT IS THE REASON THEY ARE BANNING THIS STUFF. If you smoke the stuff and freak out, dont post that it is evil or whatever, just dont smoke it again. There are THOUSANDS of cases of people dying from drinking too much WATER, does that mean it should be outlawed? DUH. These are RESEARCH CHEMICALS, NOT ORGANIC CANNABINOIDS. Responsible people KNOW what they are putting into their bodies. If you buy a bag of incense from a gas station, smoke it, and get sick or whatever, it is your OWN DAMN FAULT. You do NOT KNOW WHAT THEY PUT IN IT. It could be ANY additive known to man you are smoking. There are no regulations in the incense industry, because it is INCENSE. IF you buy a bag of ganj from a street dealer, it could be laced with ANYTHING, but you dont see people bitching on here about THAT.

Kyle, you posted that spice killed your brother…. Care to elaborate or just meaning to leave cryptic messages to scare people off? I am FAIRLY certain that spice did NOT kill your brother, but that his death was the result of one of his CHOICES that resulted in his death.

If you smoke this stuff and freak out, YOU are responsible for the negatives. If you didnt freak out and act like a damned fool, running around, pounding on your chest, screaming, letting people hit you in the face with a freakin TRASH CAN, and just realized that you are having a bit of an anxiety attack, you would be FINE.

The cannabinoids in these blends are anywhere from 4-400 times as potent as THC and its related noids. DONT SMOKE A DAMNED GRAM OF THIS STUFF FOR GODS SAKE.

Irresponsible users and stupid ass KIDS that shouldnt be using these substances to start with are the reason why there are so many legal problems now.

STOP BEING IDIOTS AND LEARN WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE DOING.

Arthur

Nov 03 - 5:43 PM

You actually like smoking this garbage? So if people smoke something that’s known to be lethal, they’re not suppose to warn others?
Yes, it’s their fault. Yes, the stuff’s not meant to be smoked. I know a guy who died from smoking this stuff. He smoked it every day for a year.
Then, he had a stroke. Want to hear more details?

r.i.p karlton

Sep 03 - 9:45 PM

My friend smoked k2 and started to freakout…he started having seizures and died..this stuff is bad!!!! Dont try it!!!!

Marie

Sep 09 - 10:21 PM

My 14 year old daughter did this and ended up in the hospital …. Her and her friend both ended up in the ER … There were two adult in there for the same thing K 2…. I have never seen any one so high …. Some how these kids need to know what they are doing .. They have not one clue!!!!! I may be a small voice in Arkansas but it is going to be heard … LOUD …. Please tell me how can this be sold legally??? And to top it off both of their drug test were NEGATIVE

tomas

Nov 03 - 5:32 PM

My wife was drunk at a wedding. The bride’s BROTHER talked her into smoking K2 because it was “legal.” She took two puffs and passed out. When she woke up, she was naked on the bed. The guy raped her. This stuff made her black out and she can’t remember anything that happened. She’s now an emotional wreck and in rape therapy. STAY AWAY from this stuff!

UnjustlySentenced

Nov 06 - 6:38 PM

Im w Josh.

Nixon ruined America.

Every human has the right to do what they wish with their own body.

When changing or destroying natural chemicals of the brain, one will feel differently compared to when they are SOBER. Some people dont understand that a lot of the feelings(emotional and physical) they have, whether sober or intoxicated, are from a change in their own individual brain chemistry. Everybody is different. One who may never touch a single intoxicating substance, but one day decides to and overdoses, might very likely have the same natural make of brain chemistry as the long-running heroin addict who ODs and dies. Usually an individual might consume large amounts of alcohol and have an “uncomfortable” experience. It’s all in that individuals tolerance for foreign substances effecting your brain chemistry. Nobody flipped out or even died from the drug, but they definitely acted a fool because they were raised to believe in somebody who watched over them and judged them for everything they do. All you bible reading yuppies need to grow up and realize that just as you have the right to exhibit schizophrenic delusions of fake people owning every single living beings right to experience what they like, that individual you are hypocritically judging has the right to consume whatever the F he or she or he/she desires. As long as somebody would understand how they react to physically and emotionally altering organic or experimental chemicals, that somebody would have the common sense to know their limits. Try reading something educational rather than some mythical bedtime bible stories you mentally challenged hillbillies.

Christina

Dec 13 - 10:39 PM

I hit Spice last night…then a weird feeling started in my legs, like they r sleeping
Then it came all over my body, like every nerv with its end is constantly contracting and sending out electronic vibes
Everything around me started moving, it was like I saw everything in slow motion…moves, voices, moving my body
My head got an air flush, I was feeling closeness, hotness and muscle contractions in one moment on my cheek, then calve, then arm and fingers and so on
I felt like my tongue is flipping around in my mouth and that I can’t control it..the tip of my tongue felt sometimes like u burned it with a hot drink..I constantly collected the water in my mouth and wanted it out since it felt weird on my tongue
I couldn’t lay down cuz I thought my tongue will roll back
I was thinking that I am maybe dying or that I will b trapped in this for the rest of my life
I could hardly move my body parts
In the ER they told me I had an increased heart rate
I felt like my heart was banging in my chest in an incredible speed
This all has happened 12 hours ago…and still I feel numbness in my body and a certain level of being slow….
I will never ever do this again!!
I never smoked, I just tried it a couple of times

Hi Christina, thank you for sharing your scary experience. I hope you’re doing better today. Do you have any information from the packet of exactly what brand of Spice this is and any identifying source, numbers, etc.?

no nameous

Jan 05 - 4:48 PM

I cannot even explain went on in my head and my body after taking k2 spice. All i know is i followed my friend to go hang out with some guys who had invited some strippers over. there was gonna be lots of sex and drinks, i did not know about smoking. after we arrived at my friends friend house, i took about half a dearpark bottle of vodka 45% alc in less than 10 mins, im use to drinking too much high percent alc in so little time before i get any reaction without hangovers or throwing up later. after i had my vodka i had to have a shot of the weed everyone was passing around, or so i thought it was weed. i swallowed up half the k2 spice which had been wrapped in a long cigar wrapper. so every one started saying oh my god he is gonna die, then they said its not weed its called k2 spice and its dangerous to intoxicate ur blood with that much of it at once, plus the alc i had. well for a few mins i kept saying ill be fine and i was. one of these strippers started getting down on me before i started feeling like me whole body was getting cramped up, then i cramped up faster and more painfully. i suddenly felt a different environment. i noticed it was bad so i told my friend to go drop me in front of a hospital where someone might find me b4 it get any worst. he said he couldn’t and his friend said it better someone find me in a trash, then i knew for sure that they were not playing. the feeling rapidly got worst. then i became crazy, i had no control of myself even though i knew they were laughing at me and saying i am crazy. the a bit of consciousness came to me and i went right to my friend and begged him to take me home or use any gun he can find to kill me with. worst i started feeling like it was better to be in hell feeling pain which i knew of than be in my body feeling some torment i couldn’t comprehend. then my gum in my mouth which had no taste at all became extremely sweet, all the water in my mouth went dry, then i started hoping not to remain this way because i now knew the torture crazy people endured. i felt like i now knew how crazy people got crazy and since i am no different man i had to stay crazy as well. then i started confessing all my lies but there was a lie so strong which i held onto. that made me know i had control, so i forced my self to keep bouncing into consciousness. it took me few seconds every time i forced my self to reason, i was a completely different being in a different world not even close to our universe, no one can know what i felt even if you go through what i went through only you will be able to know what to say about it. i have no idea but i know it was death, worst than death, worst than hell. i know i will one day want to witness my thoughts at the moment because my thoughts were reality in a different place and i will not say they were hallucinations because that will give it some meaning. what i felt had no meaning but i want to someday go through it again but not having to go through what my body suffered that day. that means ill never try it again ever. i really want to have those out of this world thoughts too advance for me, but without the torture of my body. that is all

scared for everyone

Jan 06 - 7:38 PM

I’m deeply concerned for everyone doing this drug spice, and yes, it’s a drug not a natural herb! Recently, I learned that my boyfriend has developed a dependancy to spice. He has become addicted and I’m not sure on the ammount of months he’s been using. He stopped cold turkey after I found the stuff and freaked out and we learned more about this. In his defense, a man that once loved smoking weed in his younger years was introduced to this horrible dangerous drug spice, he thought it was a natural herb as that’s what he was told. We have learned this is illegal and harmful and he not only feels like an idiot but is hurting and living in fear everyday. For Many months he was experiencing these headaches that would start in the back of his neck and go down his spine causing severe pain, and vision loss, he would vomit for no reason all the time, he became very angry, irritable, mean, and dumb for lack of better word. Spice was causing many physical symptoms that he didnt realize until it was to late. Now he’s been clean since the 27th of December however the withdrawals of this drug are just as bad, he has depression, anxiety, cant sleep, physical pains, it’s very sad to watch. Our relationship almost ended because in 4 or 5 months he had changed so much. We’ve recently spoke about what he felt like and he said his body needed more and more and no matter how many times he said he didnt need it, he couldnt control it, he hurt so bad he had to have it! In one breath I’m almost relieved I now know why he became such an ugly person to myself and the kids yet I’m so angry that he was so stupid to try this and risk his life, but also watching and knowing he’s hurting so much, is hurting me as well. I do not know the long term affects this has had on him but I hope he makes a full recovery but to anyone out there doing this, STOP! Drugs are not the answer!

Matt

May 11 - 5:25 PM

Hey did he ever get back to his self with the depression and anxitey he was having???? I smoked this stuff one time and I’m having that problem now

J. Richard

Jan 14 - 7:25 AM

I need help. A close relative smoked the K2, went crazy and robbed a store.
someone is needed to verify that this can happen asnd the person was not in his right mind. Does this happen??

DonanVanmiese

Jan 21 - 6:51 PM

This drug doesn’t reassemble any of the effects may get from marijuana. In fact the “high” is more like the “high” you would acquire from methamphetamine. I am a student at the University of Arizona currently working on gainning my PhD in Psychopharmacology, and I have been studying the effects of k2 on the CNS. Now being extremely curious about the effects of this drug I decided to try this drug. I packed myself a bowl of this green substance and inhaled the smoke. I waited approximately 15 minutes and I didn’t feel anything. I thought to myself why I wasn’t feeling the drug, and what I didnt dose correctly? Well 10 minutes pass and I just had finished smoking another 2 bowls… (pardon my language) THIS WAS A BIG FUCKING MISTAKE. I felt a tremendous amount of nausea and had uncontrolable tremors, almost as if I was having a seizure. My heart rate and BP were through the roof, my pupils were dilated, and my eyes were bloodshot. I remember hearing things

Cory

Jan 25 - 4:17 PM

Ok heres my Input on all of this..
Take it from someone who knows I just got off a three year probation sentence this past November In Colorado, I was turned on to spice “k2″ back when I first was on probation, I smoked it for three years straight now everyday. I have added up all my containers because I saved them all I had over 650 containers averaged at around 10 bucks a pop which is basicly 1 gram the prices vary… thats about 6.5k I spent which now is rather sad I cant beleive I got so far into that addiction. I’ve been a pot smoker all my life but spice is def not pot. It has so many different effects I can’t even begin to explain but I never smoked more than I could handle either I think thats where alot of kids and young adults go wrong they smoking way to much, yes its sprayed with a chemical and yes sometimes the batches get messed up but it comes down to a potency issue how much is actually being sprayed.. Recently ive been let off probation a few months ago and have recently moved to Indiana, now I havent even met anyone here yet and was curious the other day I went to the store and sure enough its being sold there so of course i grabbed a pack its way cheaper here btw I purchased a 12gram bag for under 20 dollars keep In mind Colorado I was paying up to 10-20 dollars a gram anyways Its called Zero Gravity and I took a smal amount packed it and i took one hit and i was on cloud 9 it gave me a great feeling but then all of a sudden my heart rate dropped i passed out on the floor i woke up 6 hours later and was ok dunno what could of caused that as ive said before ive smoked over 100 different types of spice never once had this type of effect Im curious to try it again to see if it does the same thing

Mariel

Feb 02 - 6:11 AM

Hey I was in a treatment program at the VA for PTSD and started using spice. Usually I would have a couple of small hits not really wanting to much of a high. Then I started getting really depressed and just wanted to feel happy for a little while so me and a couple of friends decided to smoke some more in the bathroom. I took 3 big hits and realized that the high I was getting was not what I wanted.
The first thing that happened was visual. I couldn’t see things as fluidly and seamless as my usual sight. I could still see but everything was cut into short segments and it was hard to remember what happened from the previous segment once the other one started. My friends decided to go and sit on the beds in the other room and I found it hard to move. It took all my effort just to get myself moving towards the bed. I sat down on the bed hoping that would take some of the effects off. I really don’t remember what happened to my body after that but the next thing I knew I was on the floor and I couldn’t move or speak. I could see my friend crying and puking and was wondering what was going on and a VA employee was in the room and he was asking me questions but I couldn’t focus, move, or say anything. Then it got real scary.
While looking up from the floor everything in my vision started changing I was no longer seeing what was around me. All the colors in the room started to spin in to an ever tightening circle that felt like I was trying to be squeezed into a black hole but with color and it continued getting tighter and tighter and I could hear screaming that kept getting higher and higher in pitch driving me into insanity. I couldn’t block the noises out or the feeling of being squeezed into a smaller and smaller space but never being allowed to be nothing. I tried to will myself into nothing but it only resulted in making it worse. I tried to think of other things that I liked but it all ended up turning on me and making things worse. All I could think about was please let me die so I don’t have to experience this anymore but the more I wished for it the worse it got until I finally cried out “God please save me” and in that instant I felt a cool breeze of fresh air and a presence so pure that I felt inescapably filthy. Then I had a vision of myself being an innocent child that had fallen down and needed help getting up and when I reached up there was a hand as white as snow that pulled me up and I was at peace and probably fell asleep.
I remember little snips and pieces of reality from being picked up off the ground and put on a gurney. Being in an ambulance and finally being in a hospital. I woke up in the hospital with my throat sore wondering why it was sore. I know it is crazy it sounds crazy to me still but it is all the truth I wouldn’t waist my time lying in a comment.
For a couple of days I still felt out of it and weak but it eventually went away. I remember asking everybody what had happened. One of the guys was telling me that I was screaming for about 10-15 minutes and then I was shaking and puking on the ground and was talking about wanting to die. One of the people said it was seizures. I don’t remember screaming or saying anything so it was really scary to know that I was doing things without my knowledge of it then or ever happening. I still don’t remember screaming or saying anything or how I ended up on the floor or even shaking even 7 months later.
Take it from me don’t ever try it or keep using it. It is not worth it ever.

phillip

Feb 17 - 11:26 PM

Hi I’ve been smoking spice for about 19 months, the first year I smoke magnum royal which I bought online which was jwh018 then the last 7 months I’ve been smoking gds brand I don’t know what the active ingredient is, the magnum royal I smoked everyday but only one small bowl at a time maybe every few hours, it was super strong just about every story someone has on these comments I’ve expierenced I’ve truly believed that it was my time die. And with gds its not nearly as string but if u smoke enough at once roughly anything more than a joint to my self then ill get the spins a bit but I’ve had some bad trips smoking the magnum for a year that I can handle it it doesn’t bother me anymore. But now I’m done. I’m addicted. And I can’t stop. I think I can then I got 8-12 hours with out it I start shaking sweating insane anxiety some times nausea and depression. U used to smoke about 2-3 grams a day for 6 months then last month I tried quitting cold turkey and last only 3 horrible horrible days, now I smoke about 1.5-2g I don’t usually hit 2gs. I need help on quiting wether its cold turkey and there are other OTC things that will help with the fever and anxiety, maybe Tylenol and something else I just don’t want to have to take anything ling term just something to help for a week till I can get over it all. But right now when I start to get the withdrawal symptoms smoking even only a little bit makes me feel completely better for a short period of time I rarely even get high or enjoy it anymore I just want it out if my life with out damaging it in the process. I’m not good at story telling so sorry its all over the place. Let me know if you need anymore information
-Phillip ErwinEyphill@Gmail.com

ashley

Feb 25 - 11:44 PM

I just got back from the hospital visiting my friend who has pnuemonia that I attribute to smoking spice. I wanted to share our experiences with smoking spice.First time I smoked it I did it by myself. It was Mr. Nice Guy. I had been a smoker of the real stuff for over thiry years, so I took three hits of MNG within minutes of each other. I was online doing my normal activities, when all of a sudden I thought I need to get off of here i feel a little weird. The next thing I knew I was having trouble breathing and couldn’t see very well. My heart felt as if it would beat out of my chest. I had prior experience with other mind altering drugs,and calmed myself from the growing paranoia I was feeling. I couldn’t hardly walk, but went back into my den and laid down. I felt my body jerking on the inside and moving involuntarily. I once again decided to enjoy it as best I could and imagined myself on a roller coaster. I could feel all of the hills and jerks side to side. All of a sudden the coaster stopped and I started to come back to reality. It became more of a buzz I could handle, and I sort of enjoyed the rest. You would think an experience like that would keep you away from it forever, but that is not the way it happened. I decided that I had smoked too much at once, and told a friend about it. He wanted to try it so several days later we did. We were cautious to only smoke a couple hits, and it seemed like a good less expensive alternative to the illegal marijuana. Well it became more and more of a habit,and in reality was more costly than mj. After the ban I still smoked other types of spice with the new chemicals. Super Kush was the most frequent purchase. I don’t want to draw this out too long, but after a couple of months I starting noticing side effects that became increasingly ominous. I had muscle spasms and joint pain. I had to pee at least four or five times a night which interrupted sleep greatly. I also felt like a different person completely. I was much more easily agitated and lost a lot of weight because I mostly smoked instead of eating. My friend was a worst case. He began to have grandiose thoughts, some which were violent. He would break things in a rage that even to a fellow smoker seemed uncalled for. If you tried to talk sense to him he only became worse. We both developed bad coughs and dark brown and black stuff would come up. I decided that we both had to get off of the stuff and I quit mail ordering it. That was the only way to get it near the end as it was pulled out of local smoke shops etc. I have gotten over my cough and am finally feeling human again, but as I said my friend has developed pnuemonia. I feel guilty that I introduced him to this crap, and guilty that I ever smoked it myself. The withdrawals are hell. You can’t sleep or eat. You are very depressed and weak feeling. The withdrawals last more than a week, but if you want to quit bad enough you can do it. I did it along with my friend cussing and fighting with me because I wouldn’t order any more. In a few days he realized I did him a great favor. He also realized how out of his mind this stuff made him. Good luck to those who continue to use this stuff as you will need it. I won’t ever touch it again. I also don’t smoke mj anymore. After smoking this you can’t get high on the natural stuff anymore. I hope this helps somebody out there.

liz

Mar 13 - 4:18 PM

I have never been addicted to anything before and now i cant get away from this smoke!!!! I tried but then i get sick n start throwing up and i cant eat any thing. I start yelling at everyone like being really cranky and depressed then u know if u smoke some more you will feel all better.

liz

Mar 13 - 4:19 PM

I have never been addicted to anything before and now i cant get away from this smoke!!!! I tried but then i get sick n start throwing up and i cant eat any thing. I start yelling at everyone like being really irratated and depressed then u know if u smoke some more you will feel all better.

Mom

Mar 30 - 9:28 PM

My 35 year old son is getting out the the mental hospital after a two month stay. He is bipolar and used Spice for several months. He will never be the same. His mind is gone and we are looking for a personal care home for him. This is very depressing. He was in his own apartment but now he keeps starting fires and trying to kill himself. He is dangerous and paranoid. What the hell is this drug doing at the corner gas station. We are in our late 60s and we now have a total basketcase on our hands for the rest of our and his life.

Cheryl Harper

Apr 05 - 2:02 PM

These synthetic drugs are very dangerous. Someone who is very close to me recently had a stroke soon after smoking one of this “secret” joints. Now he cannot see well enough to read. BEWARE: Drugs are drugs and are never something to be played with.

teenager

Apr 30 - 8:25 PM

I’m so glad I found this article. I think I’ve finally come to conclusions what happened to me a few months ago! One Saturday night, my friend and I were trying to find me some weed (having had a terrible week and just wanting to relax). We get home and I pack myself a bowl. She doesn’t smoke weed anymore, so it was all me. I smoked the bowl and IMMEDIATELY started feeling really high. I though this was unusual, since weed typically takes me an hour or so to feel the peak. Naturally, I became a bit concerned. (Would I get much higher from this point on?) Oh, and things did get very worse. I noticed a tremble coming along throughout my body, and tried to ignore it. I went and lay down on the couch, trying to take my mind off the effects by watching a movie. I could not watch the movie. My eyes were on the screen, but I could not process what was going on in the plot, let alone try to remember what happened even five seconds beforehand. I asked my friend to fetch me some water, as I began feeling extremely dehydrated. She handed it to me and I felt nervous to reach for it because I didn’t want her noticing just how much I was shaking. I was shaking uncontrollably. The glass was half full but was toppling over the side, as a result of my intense trembles. I just lay back and hoped it would go away, but it didn’t. Soon enough. I got this increasing level of tunnel vision. My eyesight was blurry except for the center focal point of my vision. The higher I got, though, the tighter the level of vision became, to the point where I could not even comprehend what was happening in front of me. I thought I was dying. Uncontrollably intense body shaking, disarray of vision, absolutely no short term memory or capability to process thoughts. These side effects wore off about 5 hours later, but I’m telling you, my friends, this is the furthest of things that you will ever want to smoke throughout your entire life.

xelaraider

May 20 - 12:44 PM

i shared 2 fat joints of lime bizaro. on my second joint i was in walmart parking lot. within a split second, everthing went dark and i had no previous memories.no sound,feeling,or sight. all i felt was the most intense head buzz imaginable if it could even be considered a buzz. it felt like a was a tv stuck on a statiky channel. i eventually begun to think it was the only part of my existance and i was in hell. i slowly came out of it for what seemed to be eternity. my vision was yellow for 5 minutes. my friends said i was convulsing and screaming like the exercist for 15 minutes. and during the time i had not even the slightest idea what i was doing. i am a person who has smoked fake for a year, every other weekend. if you dont want to die having no recolection of your family, your life, your friends, or anything dont do sythetic, buy pot, or booze if you have a drug test.

Ry The Spice Smoking Guy

May 31 - 2:48 PM

Hello, Ive been smoking “K2″ or “SPICE” as some of you call it for well over 2years. I have NEVER ONCE went through ANY of symptoms. Have you ever thought your local store might be making illegal compounds? or just bad compounds? 2 stores hear in MI have been D.E.A raided and the “SPICE” was tested and was seized. Yet the other store (were i get my blend from) had NO PROBLEMS, that being they were blends from legitimate makers not some idiot that thinks hes a chemist/business man. finally i DO NOT think that K2 would cause a death, but you people have to rember EVERY ONE IS DIFFRENT. K2 should not be illegal NOR will it be. Why make this illegal when you can go your local pharmacist and pick up a bottel of Oxycottin or vicoden , McDonelds cause people to be obese and develop diabetes IS THAT OUTLAWD OR BANND? no, 1000 of people die from alcohol poisoning , even more so die from HUFFING GLUE!!! do you want to bann rubber cement now too? my point is people will ALWAYS find a way to get HIGH.

Ry The Spice Smoking Guy

May 31 - 3:17 PM

also i would like to state thats MOST of these “stories” are coming from 18-20 year old kids and were probly not long term pot smokers and did not know how to handle them selfs whilst on “mood” altering drug…it does not help to get all stressed out and think your gonna DIE when you feel a little diffrent. Spice or K2 SHOULD be a 21 and over product. Like i said befor SPICE has not caused deaths…plain and simple. Maby the related deaths that person had some sort of unknown ( to them not science) conditions? Or it was the CHOICES THY MADE FOR THEM SELFS!!! Any way i think all your stories are bull shit and you people need to see that getting around on a forum to BITCH , RANT – about spice is pointless. Oh yeah Lady with the son maby your son is just a Psycho, maby you diddnt raise him right, BUT TO BLAME A HERB ???? Come on lady take action for YOUR SCREW UP. Dont use a scapegoat.

Miss Tammy

Jul 11 - 1:41 PM

As a former addict and user of herbal smoking blends and potpourri, I feel compelled to make a few statements.

The herbal incense and potpourri are very dangerous to our health. It is extremely addictive. My husband and I have smoked the incense for over three years now. We finally decided to quit after realizing we had an addiction problem, i.e., determining that we were spending in excess of $800 bucks a month on it. That’s more than our house payment. AND, discovering that when we were out of it, we would absolutely fiend for it. We have absolutely literally spent our last dollars on it – opting for spice over food – we were, in fact, no better than crack addicts or pill heads. After quitting, we experienced withdrawal symptoms, much like those of people cold turkeying from opoids or heroine. We had physical symptoms such as sweating, anxiety and nervousness, just not “feeling good” in general. Psychiatric symptoms were depression, anger, and nearly psychotic features.

I am 52 years old. My husband and I have smoked pounds of marijuana in our lifetime, we make Cheech and Chong look like amateurs. We quit smoking the pot because of drug testing and a friend introduced us to the spice. Over the past three years we have spent thousands of dollars on the stuff. The buzz you get from the synthetic stuff is not a good buzz, more like a head f***, sort of like a chemical buzz.

My husband and I are hard-working, tax-paying productive members of society. I hold a prominent position in the state system, and also have a degree in counseling. We are living proof that drug addiction has no boundaries, and can happen to anyone. You never think it will happen to you, but it very easily can.

Someone not important behind 12 proxies

Jul 02 - 2:32 AM

I have been smoking this stuff since last summer , back before they mAde it illegal it was “ok” I guess. I’m 33 I smoked herb for over 15 years and had to stop for testing . So.i choose to try k2 . I enjoyed it but it wasn’t like the real thing . It’s like taking the real thing minus the good feelings plus extra paranoia disorientation and anxiety. And didn’t last very long . Whenever it became illegal they change the chem makeup of it. Some were like no high at all and some were insane. No one knew what was what… there was no standard anymore . prohibition came again. And again it was changed . Everytime the bad parts got worse . They got to the point of Everytime I tried to barely hit it it was like I was semi tripping on mescaline.imagine taking the feeling fear Nd amplifying it in ur mind and u feel this way for absolutely no reason. Like I introducing ur soul to death himself. Would make me hear shit and it was like it was always there it just
Made it so I can perceive it. Which was horrible. Things that were there were wAy cleared . Water dripping or a pin falling on floor would make me jump freaked. To make a long story short. I think the gov is makIn the shit and fking us up after it got prohibition Since the new shit I have had unexplained blood clots in my brain. Tremors , cold swets , I have a constant ringing In my ears that will not go away its like I’m hearing in on a radio signal that’s always there. I just had my first anxiety attach from it ever for no reason about 2 hours ago . It felt like my heart was beAting sooo fast that it was shaking my whole body to the beat and I literally felt like it was going to come out of my chest and I couldn’t stop it I could t move to barely call 911. It seriously felt like it was ripping and I’m worried now that I might have possible heart damage if not death in a couple of days, including brain damage, and circulatory problems. I wAs a heavy heavy drinker And just stopped 2 days ago because I “thought ” alcohol was the problem.. But I found out otherwise the and nearly almost died… I mean common it’s legal how harmful could it really be ? And these gov and cops know that these stores are still selling it and turning a blind eye because there probably the ones that Re sending it to the middle man. Everyone always talks about how the gov is all against drugs , yeah it may seem like a protection scheme, but iN all reality there is no way that citizens of the USA or even the mex drug cartel are flooding our streets with crack heroine and even weed. There is just wayyy to many people, there biggest cash crop is the pot . That’s why most cops ie narcotics teams don’t bust people for pot unless its in the pounds. The drug game is the put the stuff on the streets let people build up there $$ . Bust them take the $$ and drugs plus everything else in eyes view game. Lockup people and recycle the product for as many times as they can. Free income on parge scale. This is why certain area have more drugs like black ghettos is because there targeting those areas. This is the real reason why they don’t want to stop the war on drugs. It’s not about ur kids or ur parents or anyone else not doing them, they proved that to us , when we did NOT have drugs on our streets and they ended the war in Vietnam and all these soldiers came back all sudden there was drugs on the streets and everyone thought the soldiers were bringing them, when really gv was bringing back cargo plain loads full of caskets that were suppose to be the remains of soldiers that were really full of coca hero opiu u name it. There are pictures and movies online Bout it too btw and it’s the truth my brother was in the vietnam war .. So what happened to all those soldiers ? And these our leaders that soldiers so proudly fought for. I should have know better myself but I know for a fact I am never touching synth again.. I never once had so many problems in my life with my health as I do know. It’s like a stranger holding up a hand full of really good looking candy, but it’s against the rules for u to have em because he can legally take it back so he finally gives u one for free and out of joy u consume it not knowing its really poison and he is in the other room laughing saying how stupid u are , and intentionally In his mind his plans was to screw u up permanently somehow or just kill u . I hope people take my advice and stayyyy far clear of this. By u destroying urself on it is all they wanted to fat out of pushing it on us anyway. This time it’s not about the month its about clearing people out of society that think with a certain process that they “would” do synths. And really in all reality it seems like its pushed mOre In places around where people have money and there kids are getting labeled as junkies. It’s like how they always HAVE to give u a a paper bag when u buy a beer at the store. It’s the law :/

Smiley

Aug 14 - 8:31 AM

I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this thread but i thought i would share my own experience. I’m 26 years old and started smoking pot when i was 15. When i was 18, I started trying mushrooms, lsd, and various other psychoactive drugs.

Last winter i picked up some of this potpouri for the first time and found it to be rather enjoyable. Having tried things like salvia, i knew not to push my limits so i would only smoke 1-3 hits at a time. It would sometimes make my heart race and every once in a while i got dizzy, but nothing that worried me too much.

After a few months of smoking this on a regular basis, i finally had that bad experience that i have heard so much about. I took a couple of hits, my heart started pounding, and i started to get very bad tunnel vision. My thoughts were racing and i began to panic. Being a veteren of psychedelics, i told myself to relax, it’s just peeking and it will be over soon. I’ve been out of my mind tasting sounds and hearing colors on lsd and mushrooms but i’ve always been able to maintain that voice in my head; not the case this time. My internal voice stopped making sense to me and it was as if i could hear alarms and sirens going off inside my head. I had an overwhelming feeling of impending doom and my heart rate seemed to suddenly drop. It felt like my heart went from 160bpm to 20bpm and was struggling each time it beat. After about 3 minutes it began to subside and my heartbeats felt very shallow.

I was vary shaken by the whole thing and after a few hours i went to the hospital; i thought that i may have had a heart attack (Family history of heart problems, and i’m not a model of perfect health. I wasn’t just being paranoid). I had some tests done and got a chance to speak with a doctor. He told me that i had not had a heart attack and that, furthermore, my heart was fine. He said that he has seen an increasing number of people coming in with the same problems after smoking this stuff. While he has never had a patient die from it he said that he has seen it cause temporary heart palpitations and panic attacks. He told me that it likely caused me to have heart palpitations which gave me the feeling that my heart was struggling and that caused me to have a panic attack. The official diagnosis was accidental poisoning.

I have not had any problems since but i have also not smoked any potpouri since then. I believe that i just got one of those unevenly sprayed batches and accientally smoked too much but the experience was enough to make me quit cold turkey. I did not have any of the withdrawl symptoms that i keep hearing about.

If you are thinking about smoking this stuff i would suggest that you smoke real weed instead. If you have to worry about a drug test then it would be worth it to look into some fake urine. If you have a high stakes drug test to worry about, then i suggest drinking instead. Potpouri should be a last resort and if you do smoke it then i suggest that you be very careful. Do not smoke it like it is weed. Take small hits and let it kick in and subside between hits (15-45 minutes). Just because the last batch effected you a certain way do not assume that this batch will be the same. The same goes for individual hits too. Just because the last hit didn’t have much of an effect does not mean that the next hit will be the same. Remember that this stuff is sprayed on and is unlikely to be evenly sprayed. I suggest smoking it with a one hitter and not a bong. Remember to relax and that if the effects are too strong for you, just remember that it will go away soon. Also, as with any drug, do not do it by yourself, always have a trip sitter and do it in a comfortable familiar setting.

I hope that this post is helpful.

- Smiley

Wesdo

Feb 15 - 12:43 AM

All I have to say on the matter of “synthetic weed” is don’tdo it… If you are thinking of doing it consider this… I have been an everyday smoker of real MJ for 10 years and absoloutly love weed. I was on my way in back home from a job in New Mexico I live in Cali so it’s a long drive, after two weeks of no weed I needed to get high badly.. So I was willing to try out the “synthetic weed” to satisfy my urges untill I was done with my long drive.. 2nd Worst decision of my life!!! I’m not sure as to the particular brand as there are 1000′s now that JWH-018 is banned or whatever it’s called, all I remember is the demon depicted on the front in red, me having a high tolerance thought I needed the extra potent stuff wrong-o!! As soon as I left the tobacco store from which I purchased this along with a pipe to smoke out of,the clerk (knowingly) smiles and winks at me as I make my purchase and leave. I immediately pack a bowl and begin back on my trip while puffing the fake weed, the actual worst decision of my life!! Initially I felt nothing more than a slight head change but by the third puff I realized I had made a huge mistake,my vision suddenly became extremely shakey as if nothing was in place but floating. Now imagine this all while your driving a very heavily traveled highway with a crapload of big rigs surrounding you,scary right? By this time I myself became extremely shakey and and my heart felt like it was literally beating out of my chest I thought I was on the brink of death,my whole life flashed in front of me almost like a movie on fast forward. My body began to shut down, it started in my head as a burning sensation (a terrible one) almost like a fire. Than it felt as if all my blood was rushing to my legs also felt like they were filled with metal as they became nearly unuseable to me. I was freaking out as I could barley see straight let alone drive, I was literally praying to god to please forgive me for the grave mistake I had made and promised never to touch that stuff again if I could make it out of this alive. Thankfully after about 30 mins (worst and longest 30 mins of my life) I seen a liquor store and pulled over to get some eye drops in case I got pulled over,god must have heard my prayer because as soon as I dropped my head from putting in eye drops I seen a motel and had to stop for the rest of the day as it was only 2pm so I wasted a whole day. Long story short don’t do it!! If it can cause effects like that just from one use imagine what it might do over a period of time. Weed has never once made me feel that way or anything close,and I smoke a lot and a bunch of different kinds as I am a medicinal marijuana patient,spice is NOTHING even close to weed. Please consider my experience,and learn from my mistake,this stuff is no good trust me…

Wesdo

Feb 15 - 2:08 AM

Added note: As soon as I entered the motel room I went straight to the bathroom and disposed of this DRUG and haven’t touched it since nor will I.

Robert

Mar 22 - 9:15 AM

Tried spice mad hatter wow felt like every vein in my body was on fire like I could feel all of them burning in my arms was the worse and my feet lasted hours from just one hit .I have smoked many other blends and never had this experience I am kinda glad I did tho so I will stop smoking it you can still buy it online dunno why the dea has not shut them down just search for incense
and you will see the sites that till sell this demon crap.

Halley

Mar 31 - 2:07 PM

I can barely even explain what happened to me with spice. Maybe an hour or two ago I had just gotten a new bowl and I wanted to smoke, so I locked my door packed up and started hitting it. I had done spice before a lot so I was sure I was going to be fine. I guess maybe for a whilen was too high to function, everything in my room started looking scary to me. All of the colors started to blend together. I don’t know how long this lasted, but I couldn’t move when it was going on. Suddenly without even knowing it I started screaming, I don’t know how loud but I know that I was doing it and I was screaming “help me” too. I was also shaking uncontrollably. My family heard it and they were trying to get into my room it took everything I had to get up and unlock the door, and when I got out there I was screaming and shaking hysterically and l kept saying that I had smoked some spice and I didn’t want to be that way, and they were holding me and trying to ask what was wrong and if i needed a hospital. I literally thought I had gone mentally insane. I know that it wasn’t me but it was still very scary and embarrassing. I calmed down but I have a headache and I’m still out of it and freaked out. I know that it was a bad trip and that I smoked too much but I want to be able to take as many hits as possible without flipping the fuck out. Fuck spice I’m sticking with pot.

My life has been insane since I started smoking spice. I Have smoked all types of spice but the worst one simply had the word information written in obscure letters. That’s The only thing the pack said it was a 4 G pack just like the the others that I had bought so I believed it was a new kind so i bought it the first half of the tote was fine got a real great buzz the final part of the tote it got mad first my girl friend trips out and thought she was dying, dyeing call the emergency medical services and all her blood-pressure was so low they could scarcely locate a beat it lasted about 30 minutes the next day the very same bowl her brother dad and cousin they all took one hit a piece and immediately went into panic mode started tripping out every one of them we all stopped smoking for approximately a week then started back be en smoki ng it for about 4 years me and my girlfriend still smoke it and are broke as hell her brother and cousin both stole till they went to jail for trying to get high i still cant bring myself to stop